Beach Safety and the Law Summit

The Inaugural Beach Safety and the Law Summit was held recently at the Marriott Resort on the Gold Coast. Jointly hosted by Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) and the Queensland Law Society, and supported by the Queensland Government and Southern Cross University, the summit saw more than 100 people, ranging from legal experts to local government lifeguard supervisors, gather for two days to discuss legal developments and ways to improve coastal safety standards. A series of papers from practitioners including Justice M.A. McMurdo AC, President, Queensland Court of Appeal and Justice A.G. Whealy, NSW Supreme Court made it clear that the success of the recent round of tort law reforms did not absolve organisations involved in coastal safety from the responsibility of minimising risk. Justice McMurdo said it was important to regularly review obligations and any systems relating to beach safety, taking into account the size of the risk, the degree of the probability of it occurring and the expense, diffi culty, and inconvenience of taking alleviating action. “Regular monitoring and refi nement of obligations and systems, taking into account all the ever changing circumstances, is essential,” she said. “Knowing how to most effectively communicate safety information to beach users so that they can enjoy the beach is essential. Stakeholders must make beach users aware of inherent dangers so that they can take informed personal responsibility for their own safety without endangering others.” Speaking at the conclusion of the Summit, SLSA CEO, Brett Williamson OAM said that it was clear that a uniform set of coastal safety guidelines was a critical factor in further reducing the rate of coastal drowning and injury. “A number of speakers touched on emerging legal issues in relation to beach safety, such as crime prevention, surveillance and privacy issues, the increasing use of our coast by people with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and overseas visitors, as well as the impact of climate change,” he said. “It is clear that all stakeholders need to keep abreast of all developments to ensure the best outcomes in terms of risk management of coastal safety.” Thanks also to the Queensland Law Society and QUT for their support in the staging of the Summit. A full set of papers will be available for interested stakeholders shortly. More information Mo Contact your Surf Life Saving state centre